Sidewalk replacement on Grand Ave - went from patchwork to smooth in 3 months... but at what cost?

The city finally tore up those cracked slabs along Grand near the library back in April and laid brand new concrete by July, looked great for about two weeks. Now I'm seeing fresh cracks near the expansion joints and the drainage slopes feel off, like water pools instead of running to the curb. Did the contractor cut corners on the base prep or is this just normal settling for new concrete in the Pacific Northwest?

3 comments

3 Comments

reesemoore28d ago

Honestly, I noticed the exact same thing over by the old library parking lot. The water pooling is the real giveaway that something's wrong with the slope. My neighbor works in commercial grading and he said a lot of contractors rush the base prep just to hit deadlines, especially with the rainy season coming. If the base layer isn't compacted right in this climate, you get those hairline cracks and drainage issues almost immediately. Give it another year and those new slabs will probably look just as bad as the old ones.

walker.max28d ago

Is it really that big of a deal though?

olivia_rivera8826d ago

Isn't it just common sense that cutting corners on prep work always comes back to haunt you later?